


waiting for you

by duaazhh



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24351442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duaazhh/pseuds/duaazhh
Summary: Anne and Gilbert stay at the Cuthbert residence together for a while as Matthew and Marilla accompany Bash to the town doctor. What could possibly go wrong?
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 9
Kudos: 116





	waiting for you

It was an unusually dull day in Avonlea. It was merely 12 noon yet the sun was hiding behind the clouds like a child hiding from his angry parent. No bird flew in the sky and no human was seen out wandering the area. It was dull, dreary, boring, monotonous and every other word Anne Shirley-Cuthbert would come up with.

Sixteen year old Anne was sitting near her bedroom window, sighing and huffing and puffing at the weather in front of her eyes. She had plans with her bosom friend Diana Barry but couldn't go out now thanks to the hanging threat of rain. So, now she sat near our window, reading Jane Eyre and silently cursing the weather for the cancellation of her plans.

As she flipped the page of her book, anticipating the next word, even though she'd read it multiple times, she saw people approaching Green Gables. Who'd want to leave the safety of their warm homes to come out in thi-

"Anne! Come down here!" Marilla Cuthbert's voice interrupted Anne's thought as the young girl set her book aside and raced downstairs to see what her adoptive mother had called her down for.

"Anne, listen here," Marilla said. "Matthew and I have to take baby Delphine and Bash here to Dr. Ward. The seasons changing have cast a bad cold on the poor child. You and Gilbert will be—" she interrupted herself to say, " – child, are you even listening?"

To clarify, no. Anne wasn't listening. She was too busy staring at Gilbert Blythe who was standing in her kitchen, wearing his thick red sweater looking out at the weather outside with a curious expression on his face. His beautiful grey eyes looked at the skies as if he was searching for an answer. His raven coloured curls were a wild mess and flopped over his pale forehead. He was a sight to see. A beautiful, beautiful sight.

"Anne!" Marilla's exclamation brought both Anne's and Gilbert's attention to the annoyed woman looking angrily at her adoptive daughter.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Marilla, I got, um…distracted…what were you, uh, saying?" Anne was blushing at the realization of her distraction.

Before Marilla could repeat what she'd been saying, Gilbert spoke, "Delly's got a cold and I can't seem to figure out the problem so Bash is taking her to the doctor in Charlottetown and Mr. and Ms. Cuthbert have been kind enough to accompany him. I'll be staying at Green Gables until their return, assuming that's okay with you?"

"Uh, yes, of course, will she be okay?" Anne quickly asked, trying to mask her nervousness and excitement at the prospect of Gilbert Blythe spending time with her. _Stop this ridiculous pining over a boy, Anne._ Her mind was spinning and whizzing.

"Hopefully. My baby girl can fight anything. She's not going down easy," Bash said with worry lacing his tone.

Anne smiled at him reassuringly hoping to calm some of his nerves.

"Now, listen carefully Anne, the trip could take a day or two... something like that, so I trust you to take care of yourself and Gilbert. You know how to cook and all and Gilbert can help. Now, we really must get going," Marilla rushed through her words, planted a quick kiss on Anne's head, nodded at Gilbert and was out the door, following Bash who had little Delphine in his arms.

Matthew walked out the door before turning around and hugging Anne shyly. "Stay safe, my Anne."

And with that, they were gone, leaving Anne and Gilbert alone.

An awkward silence fell over Green Gables as the young boy and girl looked everywhere but at each other. Anne, being the ever so bold one, broke the silence. "Do you think she's going to be okay?"

"I really hope so," Gilbert said as he took off his coat and satchel. Anne took them from his hands and placed them carefully on the coat rack as she gestured for Gilbert to sit down at the dinner table.

"What do you think? I mean, you're an aspiring doctor. And a very good one, from what I can see. What's your take?" Anne asked as she sat opposite Gilbert.

"Me? Good?" Gilbert scoffed. "No. If I was good, they wouldn’t have to go all the way to Charlottetown to Dr. Ward. They wouldn’t be wasting all this money and time and energy. If only I was good enough to help," the poor boy looked so sad and troubled and angry with himself, Anne had to resist the urge to just hug him.

Instead, she carried on in a gentle voice, "You mustn’t blame yourself for any of this, Gilbert. You're still learning and you cannot fix everything." She placed a hand on his and said, "Don't ever doubt yourself."

Gilbert looked down at his hand covered by that of the girl opposite him. He couldn’t help but smile. "Thank you, Anne. That means a lot."

She smiled sweetly at him and Gilbert couldn’t stop himself from responding with a goofy grin.

Everything seemed to be going great until a loud crack of thunder disrupted their moment and caused their heads to turn to the window.

The sky was filled with angry black clouds who were unleashing their wrath upon the earth by sending down water droplets hard and fast. The thunder was loud and the constant flashes of lightning lit up everything in Avonlea like a bright Sunday morning.

Anne almost screamed when she heard the thunder. You see, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert wasn’t scared of a lot of things but thunder was one of them. After reading about it constantly in her fantasy novels and learning about it in Miss Stacy's classes, Anne had grown to fear the natural phenomenon without actually ever witnessing it. Until today.

"Anne, are you alright?" Gilbert didn’t even bother hiding the concern in his voice.

Even though the loud noises and bright flashes scared her, Anne's eyes stayed glued to the window dividing her from the dangers outside. She was so scared and shocked, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Gilbert quickly noticed how much the scene outside was distressing Anne so he got up and drew the blinds on the windows in the room and sat in front of Anne who was shivering now with closed eyes.

"Anne, its okay. You can open your eyes now, you can't see it anymore," Gilbert held her shaking hand in his own.

Anne opened her eyes and Gilbert saw her eyes glistening with tears. "T-that was s-scary. I've never h-heard thunder before b-but it scares me. A l-lot!"

Gilbert looked at Anne and didn't know how to respond. He didn’t know what to say or do so he did the first thing that popped into his mind. He hugged her.

Anne immediately stopped shivering and relaxed in Gilbert's arms and she heard him say," Hey, hey its okay. It won't hurt us. We're safe. You're safe. Okay?"

She nodded into his chest and noticed how he smelled of honey. How sweet. Literally.

Another crack of thunder made Anne whimper and she started breathing heavily. Her grip around Gilbert tightened, almost restricting oxygen for the poor boy.

"Okay, lets fix this, hm?" Gilbert managed to choke out. He sat up straighter and moved Anne so they would no longer hugging and she was looking at him with her tear-filled eyes and red cheeks. Gilbert literally had no idea how to deal with this so again he thought about the first (or second) thing that came to him.

"You know, when I was on that ship, I heard thunder once. There was this really bad storm that hit us. It was really scary in the beginning and I didn’t know what to do," Gilbert continued his eyes as he wiped the tears carefully off of Anne's cheeks. "I hadn't seen or heard anything like this before and even though it scared me, I couldn’t stop looking. There was this really small window near my hammock. I'd just stare at the sky. Just stare and stare. And my mind wandered and wandered until I started thinking about the result all this rain and lightning and thunder brought."

Anne was listening to Gilbert's story with rapt attention and let the boy wipe the tears away. She was starting to just tune the thunder out just to listen to the story.

"You see," Gilbert said as he picked up a daisy in the vase situated on the Cuthberts' dinner table and twirled it around in his hand. "After all the rain and all the loud thunder and bright lightning, we get beautiful flowers. Think about it. The trees seem greener and the flowers seem prettier and it seems like a scene right out of the novels, doesn’t it? Makes all the rain and thunder…..worth it." Gilbert ended his story by handing Anne the daisy and looking at her with the brightest smile ever.

Anne took the daisy, looked at it with wonder and amazement and then smiled up at Gilbert before hugging him. "Thank you."

That was all she said before she quickly got up, trying to hide her deepening blush, and got to work around the kitchen to make lunch for the both of them.

Gilbert sat on his seat at the dinner table, just watching Anne move around the kitchen. She shuddered every time she heard thunder but quickly got over it and continued the process of cooking. He smiled as she worked and couldn’t help but wonder what went through the girl's mind. Realizing he was probably being rude by not helping, he got up from his seat and rushed to the nearest bowl and knife.

"Uh, how can I help?" Gilbert rolled up his sleeves and ran a hand through his hair to settle it down but he just made it messier.

"Help?" Anne stopped cutting carrots to look up at Gilbert. "To cook?"

Gilbert nodded in response, as if it was the obvious thing ever.

"I'm sorry, what?" Anne couldn’t help but be taken aback by a boy asking to help out in the kitchen.

"Do you not want me to help or…?" Gilbert said, confused.

"No, no. Its just that boys don’t help out in all this 'lady' stuff, that’s all. You can start cutting up the tomatoes."

"I find that to be nonsense. Its just an action. Does it matter whether a boy or girl does it?" Gilbert said, as he chopped up tomatoes on a cutting board, opposite Anne.

"I agree! I find it so ridiculous to not cook because you're a boy or not ride a bicycle because you're a girl! It doesn't really matter!" Anne exclaimed, happy that someone thought the same as her.

They cooked in silence until Anne suddenly remembered something. "Oh no! No no no!"

"Anne, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Gilbert quickly rushed to her side and checked to see if she was hurt.

"Oh, the barn door! I left it open when I was collecting the eggs in the morning! The water must've all soaked up the hay by now!" Anne exclaimed in horror.

Gilbert sighed in relief that nothing was wrong with her and said, "Its okay, don't worry, I'll go close it right now, okay?"

"No! You're not going out alone. I'm coming with you!" Anne replied.

Gilbert chuckled at the girl's worries. "Anne, don't worry, its just a ten second walk."

"I. Don't Care. I'm coming with you," Anne stubbornly said. Gilbert knew trying to convince the girl was a waste of time so he just grabbed his coat and opened the front door to be greeted with a harsh gust of cold wind. As him and Anne stepped out, a blinding flash of lightning shone in the sky, illuminating Avonlea for a split second. Anne whimpered and instantly held Gilbert's hand.

The boy's eyes widened at this sudden reaction and he was suddenly blushing furiously. _Oh, stop it, Gilbert. You're acting so childish._ Gilbert mentally scolded himself but even he couldn’t fight back a smile.

They jogged the short distance to the barn, with Gilbert squeezing Anne's hand whenever the thunder sounded and scared the poor girl. After making sure all the animals inside were safe and dry, Anne and Gilbert restocked their feeding bowls and started the short jog back to the house, their hands finding each other yet again.

As soon as Gilbert shut the door of the house, all the thunder and rainfall became muffled sounds. Even though they'd spent only a minute outside, their heads were still quite wet. Well, at least Gilbert's. With his free hand, he'd taken his cap and placed it on top of Anne's red hair to protect it from the rain. Now all his curls were wet and stuck to his forehead.

 _He looks so cute. Like a puppy._ Anne thought as she saw Gilbert run a hand through his wet hair as he closed all the blinds to protect Anne from the thunder.

They continued cooking and stealing glances at each other. This didn’t stop until even after they ate. One would look at the other, make eye contact and then blush. This went on forever and yet, they still couldn’t shake the butterflies in their stomachs whenever it happened.

It was now 9 in the evening. The adults still weren’t back and the rain was still pouring hard. Anne and Gilbert had already had dinner and were now on the floor of the parlour, sharing stories. All they'd done the whole day was talk and share and confess things they hadn’t to anyone else before, thus, confirming the fact that they liked each other.

"Okay, my turn," Gilbert said. They were just asking each other random questions but neither of them had ever expected it to be this fun. "Three things you like about me?"

"Oh wow, way to ruin the game, Gil," Anne didn’t even notice how easily her newly coined nickname for him had just rolled of her tongue. She chuckled and said," Let's see, you're extremely understanding a-and you have the same opinions as me and you're funny and you're so comforting and gentle. I stopped noticing the thunder thanks to you! Also, you looked so adorable when you stepped into the house after we came back from the barn and your hair was such a mess and you were all red in the face because of the cold and you had tiny droplets of water in your skin and on your hair which made it look like you were glowing. Also, whenever you talk about something you love, your eyes always twinkle and its so mesmerizing, I could really get lost in them forev—" Anne stopped rambling just to realize what she'd been saying. She turned as red as a beetroot before looking at Gilbert who was blushing really really hard. "Uh, I-I'm sorry, I d-didn’t realize I-"

"Its okay, Anne. It was cute," Gilbert interrupted her apology with a mischievous grin on his face.

Anne looked at Gilbert before the both of them broke down in hysterical giggles. Honestly, they sounded like crazy people.

After the both of them had calmed down and were gasping for air, Anne spoke up," I meant it, Gilbert. Every word." There was a smile on her face as she said it and only God knows how she mustered up enough confidence to tell Gilbert that. "But, we have to make it even. I played my turn, now its yours," Anne concluded with a triumphant look in her eyes.

Gilbert fidgeted a bit and scratched the back of his neck as he started, "U-uh, okay. I like how you're so passionate about the things you love to do and how you don't care about what anyone says. You always want to learn more and help others and cheer people up. You're so kind, helpful and sweet to everyone. Also, you, uh, you…um, youhavereallyniceeyes," Gilbert said the last words in a rush, hoping Anne didn’t get them.

Silence.

More silence.

Gilbert looked at Anne who was blushing furiously and looking at him with such a soft and sweet expression that Gilbert had to resist the urge to hug her _again._

The whole eye contact and blushing happened again and just as Gilbert was going to say something, there was a knock on the door.

The pair got up and made their way to the door to be greeted by a trio of extremely tired adults. As Matthew, Marilla, and Bash settled down, Anne held Delphine in her arms and her and Gilbert hummed a soft lullaby to lull the baby to sleep.

As Anne laid her down in her travel cot, Gilbert asked, "What did the doctor say?"

"She'll be okay, thankfully, it is just a seasonal flu," Bash replied as he ate the dinner Anne and Gilbert had prepared for them.

"The doctor just told us to keep her bundled up and warm and to give her a teaspoon of this syrup after every meal," Marilla continued.

"She'll be okay, don’t you worry," Matthew reassured the children, in his quiet voice.

After thanking the Cuthberts a thousand times, Bash was on his way to the Blythe residence with Delphine fast asleep in his arms. Matthew and Marilla had retired to the comfort of their bedrooms and Anne and Gilbert were at the doorstep of Green Gables, finding words to say goodbye to each other.

As usual, the ever so bold Anne spoke up, "I really had a good time and I hope we can do this again."

Gilbert smiled at her. "Me too, Anne. I really enjoyed with you and thank you so much, you know, for everything. You really are a very understanding person to talk to."

"You too, Gil. You really do understand me better than anyone I've ever talked to and honestly, its so rare to find people who agree with you now becau-"

Anne was silenced with a quick kiss. She looked up at Gilbert who looked like he was a step away from a full meltdown. She smiled and said," As much I dislike being interrupted, I am glad you did that."

Gilbert looked at her and smiled. Our reaction seemed to have calmed him down as he said, "I'm glad too."

Anne reached up just a bit and kissed Gilbert again. It was like floating on a cloud. It was so sweet and innocent and perfect that Anne couldn’t even describe it.

She broke away, hugged the boy tight and said," Goodnight, Gilbert Blythe. I hope you're there when the morning arises."

"And I hope you're waiting for me when I come, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert."

**Author's Note:**

> i hoped u liked it! i have another awae fic queued up so if u want, i can post that too! :)


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